Thursday, December 29, 2011

When Martin Luther King Jr. said, "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character," it was a pivotal moment in history--or should've been. The greatness of that one line transcends time, and yet millions of Americans cannot discard the racial divide that has plagued us for so long.

There are groups such as the Black Caucus, and other groups associated with Black Americans. There are Latino groups, such as La Raza. There are many, many different groups all aligned with one race or another. Why? Why do we have to keep dividing each other by the color of our skin instead of only judging each other by the way we act and the things we say?

This isn't a game. This isn't like elementary school when the teacher asked the girls to line up along one wall, and the boys to line up against the other, opposite wall. Why do we have to keep acting the child, instead of the grownup?

Those searching for would-be terrorists are asked not to profile, because profiling sometimes puts more emphasis on one set of physical characteristics (skin color) than another. Yet many of those same people who ask for profiling to be abandoned as a tactic for discovering terrorists, huddle in groups of their own racial type, and fail to meld into society, not as a latino, arab, asian, or black, but as an American. E pluribus unum--from one many. Skin color should only be used as a description of what a person looks like for either solving crimes, or helping to find someone who is lost.

The fact is, King's dream may be fading as those who most prospered by it are forgetting its importance. If racial divisiveness continues, we can never be a united nation. Can we just forget about the color of our skin and think of each other as the human race instead?

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

I don’t feel like working on my novel today. I think it’s because I feel rushed. I have to get ready in about 20-25 minutes, in order to hit the gym before work. For this reason, I’m writing a blog entry instead of working on my novel. I’m looking forward to the day when I can have more time to just relax and write. That should happen in about three months from now when I no longer have to be on the overtime list–at least for a few months. I may have to be on the list for the last three months of the year, but that should put an end to it for good, as we’re only a year and a half away from having our house paid off.

That will be so great to have the house paid off. I’ve been looking forward to that for a long, long time. We have sacrificed in many ways doing upkeep and buying things many of the Joneses have bought. We have tried to stay out of debt, only getting in debt for much needed cars, at least for the last ten years or so. Soon, if all goes well, we won’t even need to get into debt for cars when we need them.

I’m not sure though that we did everything right. I know we tried to be frugal for the most part, but there were splurges. Actually, I think there have to be some splurges–some surprises and rewards for all the hard work from time to time. Otherwise, depression and drudgery can set in.

So really, I kind of needed to take a break from trying to squeeze in a half hour of working on the novel. Actually, it’s going pretty well. It’s my second book and I’ve basically rewritten it through about 38,000 words. I’ll need to at least double that in order for it to have a chance of selling. That’s okay though–the story is far from over. I have many more scenes to add, and an exciting conclusion. I hope when it’s finished, and if I sell it, that you’ll take the time to read Last Stand at Cibola. It is a work of my heart. It’s a fantasy set in the Old West, full of Hopi mysticism and magic. I’ll let you know when it’s available.

As for my already completed novel, I think I’m going to go through it once more and think of a new title for it, as the title I have for it now I’m not satisfied with. I’m looking to publish that too, but maybe as an e-book. I really just need to get some cover art for it.

Friday, December 23, 2011

I think most of the people coming here illegally from Mexico are trying to escape a bad government, and horrible living conditions. There are some evil people coming as well, that is true. I believe though, that most are fleeing evil.

So, I wonder, if they are fleeing evil, do they want it to follow them? In Pat Buchanan’s book, Suicide of a Superpower, he cites stats that show a majority of Mexicans, even to the second generation, would like to Mexicanize America. I can’t help but wonder, if they’ve really thought it through. Here they are, fleeing corruption, discouraged by the lack of opportunity, only to show up and want to change the United States to be like that?

Not that America isn’t becoming more like that anyway. The corruption in politics has come more and more into the light, and Americans feel powerless in many ways to do anything to change the status quo. Frankly, we don’t need people here who only want to take advantage of the system, live off of welfare, and try to destroy the last vestiges of the idea of America.

I like people who aren’t like that. I like people who want to come here because they love liberty, and because they know that working hard and giving your best yields the best results. So, for those who come here and want those kinds of things, I could be persuaded that they should stay, at least, that they should be given the opportunity to apply for citizenship. For those who want to live off the public dole, who want to commit crimes, who think it’s okay to drive drunk and kill people, who want to trash America and Americans, and who want to reconquista their former lands–well, I have no good words to say for you. Go away. There is no place for you here. Take the drug cartel people and throw them out of the country, forcibly if necessary, maybe even have them break rocks for a few years first.

But let’s preserve the idea of America first. Without the idea, the last remains will escape us, like sand in a whirlwind.